


Test of Faith

by PeachiePit



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: OC, Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 06:26:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29995239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachiePit/pseuds/PeachiePit
Summary: Colinam and Elbridge are summoned to the Candles late one evening.
Kudos: 2





	Test of Faith

**Author's Note:**

> These characters are fictional and not related to the cannon Critical Role webseries.

Trent sat in the candles, waiting for one of them to arrive. First to arrive was Elbridge a bit early. “Elbridge, welcome.” Trent said, watching as El nodded his head to him. “Evening Master Ikithon. Is there a reason you’ve summoned me so late?” Elbridge asked, watching him curiously. “I’ve summoned another student of mine tonight as well. Please, sit, relax, he will be here soon.” Trent said, gesturing for him to sit. “I’ll stand, but thank you sir.” El said, nodding to him again.

Col entered the candles, he had just recently returned from his mission so to be summoned so soon made him worried. Still he walked in, eyes flickering over to Elbridge for a moment before landing on Trent. “Evening Master Ikithon.” He greeted hands crossing behind his back. “Elbridge, nice to see you again.”  _ Why did he summon me this late?..unless...fuck _ . 

Elbridge glanced at Col, doing a double take quickly before looking back at Trent. “Ah, Col, welcome.” Trent said, waving him over. “Come come, Elbridge has told me about your meeting already.” He said, watching between the two. “Elbridge, Col, you two are going to be fighting today.” He said, intertwining his fingers in front of him. “I know you’ve just returned Col, but I would like to test Elbridge’s skills. And you, I have decided, would be a perfect match.” He smiled, a disgusting smile. Elbridge nodded to Trent. “Understood.” Elbridge said, looking to Col. “Good luck.” He left to go get ready.    
  
Col approached nodding as he was told why he had been summoned.  _ Lovely, another fight. _ “Understood.” He watched as Elbridge left and waited a moment before speaking again. “Is there anything else you require of me, Master Ikithon?” 

“Yes,” he said, looking at Col now. “Don’t go easy on him. I need to be sure he’s a good fit for the program. Don’t disappoint me Colinam.” He said, looking back out at the arena. His smile grew a bit wider as he watched Elbridge enter. He stayed on the sidelines, keeping a watchful eye. Elbridge had removed his coat and bandages, the crystals now showing. He held his hands behind his back and waited for Col to arrive. 

“Understood.” Col turned and left to go get ready, though there wasn’t much he needed to be ready. Entering the arena, the arm bands were already off even though he wished he could have them on instead. Moving to the opposite side of the room he inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times, sending a quiet prayer to Her before turning, sword being drawn. 

Elbridge touched his chest, closing his eyes as the ring on his finger let off a soft glow. He looked at Col and smirked, holding his hand out and summoning his spiritual weapon. A dark scythe appeared with a flash of yellow. The blade was black with what looked like cracks of blinding golden light peeking out, with a matching handle. He smirked. Elbridge bolted forward 25 feet, keeping a tight grip on the blade as he swung, hitting Col *hard*. He then raised a hand, casting Spiritual Guardian. Elbridge smirked as the guardian struck Col as well. He then backed up 5 feet, watching Col.

Col took the hits and chuckled, wasting no time he moved forward taking two swings at Elbridge both slashing across his chest. There was a flash of blinding light from where both hits landed. He was told not to hold back, and he had no reason to hold back either. At the same time, his symbol glowed underneath their armor before fading once he was done. He then dropped into a defensive stance keeping an eye on Elbridge and the Spirit Guardian. 

Elbridge grunted as he was hit, feeling the pain surge through him. He watched as the guardian struck Col again, taking an opportunity to heal himself quickly before he took a few components out, sprinting back 20 feet to the guardian. He sent out a swarm of locus, watching as they surrounded Col. He breathed heavily, watching carefully. He was in a lot of pain. He went into a defensive position. 

Col shielded himself as best as could from the swarm that suddenly appeared.  _ Clerics are their spells. _ Keeping their focus directly on his opponent he dashed forward once again the glowing returning as he took another two swings. His heart was racing, adrenaline coursing through him. As long as he didn’t get distracted he would be fine. There was time for feeling bad about this later. 

Elbridge was about to attack again, raising his scythe, then Trent interrupted. “Colinam.” He said, causing Elbridge to stop in his tracks. Trent looked between the two, seeing how damaged Elbridge was. “Finish him off.” A bit of fear flashed in El’s eyes as he looked between Trent and Col. “Now.” Trent spoke again, his voice harsh. Elbridge looked at Col, trying to keep his composure, but fear swam in his eyes. 

Col paused when Trent called out, his entire body tensed. There were flashes of old memories. Torin. Mailos. Their faces, their smiles, their laughs. He didn't look away from Elbridge, he couldn't look away because the moment he did he wouldn't be able to follow through with this. He didn't want to follow through with this but he had no choice. "Understood." He raised his sword and took another swing. However as he went to do so he was momentarily caught off guard as Elbridge swung back towards him causing his swings to miss. 

Elbridge went into fight or flight, swinging and hitting Col again, his body shaking slightly. Internally, he was  _ terrified _ , but externally he seemed calm for the most part. He breathed heavily and raised his scythe, trying to hit him again.

Col steeled himself.  _ Do not get distracted! _ Taking the hit he reacted immediately, the sword slashing across Elbridge’s chest. He watched as the other crumpled to the ground and he took a step back already beginning to count down in his mind.

Elbridge’s body crumpled to the floor, watching Col as he did. Trent walked towards them, looking at Col. “Colinam.” He said, “I said,  _ finish him off. _ ” He walked over and looked down at Elbridge. “If you don’t, I’ll have to punish you both.” He said, placing his arms behind his back. “And what I have planned for him will be a fate worse than death. Do you want to take that chance, Colinam?” He looked to Col, his stare serious. He took a few steps back and gestured to El’s unmoving body. 

Col gripped his blade, completely still eyes locked onto Elbridge's unmoving body. “No sir.” He answered. Again flashes of memories, of moments like this. Moments of him having no choice. The blade flipped in his hand and he moved forward striking down, the blade sinking into Elbridge. Pulling out the blade he did not look away. The counting now restarting in his mind. A minute was all he had. 

Trent smirked a disgustingly large grin. “Good.” He said, turning. “You never cease to disappoint me, Colinam.” He started walking off. “Revive him if you please. If you do, tell him to meet me in my tower in two days' time.” He continued walking for a few moments before pausing again. “Oh and, one more thing.” He looked back at him. “Do make sure your lies don’t get back to me next time, or I won’t be as kind.” And with that, he left, leaving the lifeless body of Elbridge sprawled across the ground.

“Understood.” Col continued to count the seconds, he waited until Trent was gone and dropped to his knees taking out the diamond he had stored away someplace safe and immediately began to cast Revivify. At the same time he said a prayer to the Wildemother, switching to Celestial. “ _ Please heed my call, he doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve what he’s been put through. He should have more time on this plane.. his story shouldn’t end like this. Please bring him back and allow me to fix the mistakes that I wasn’t able to with Torin and Mailos. _ ” The diamond shattered into small particles that drifted down onto Elbridge, seeping into every wound and healed him. Brought him back. 

What a soft gasp, breath returned into Elbridge’s lungs. There was a warm feeling over him and he could feel the ache in his body still. He slowly blinked, looking around. He saw Col and instinctively jerked back, groaning and holding his chest. He breathed heavily and, in a panic, looked for anything he could use as a weapon. He was still in fight or flight mode.

Col’s hands were beginning to shake as he watched life return to Elbridge. The reaction was valid and he probably would've done the same if the roles were reversed. "He's gone.. the fight is over." He informed the other, finally able to pull his gaze away from Elbridge now locked onto a random spot within the room. His sword laid a few feet away, forgotten for the time being but fresh blood dripped from the edges onto the floor. 

Elbridge watched him for a few more moments, making sure he wasn’t lying before laying back down on the ground and looking up at the sky. He kept one hand on his chest, closing his eyes. His body shook a bit and he put a hand over his mouth, trying to not to cry in front of him. He was  _ terrified _ . He had just died. He hated this. He couldn’t find the words to say as the grip on his mouth tightened. He couldn’t show too much weakness, right?

Col spent a few minutes taking deep breaths, trying to keep himself together. The last thing he wanted was for the both of them to fall apart in the middle of the arena with Trent potentially in the area. “Come on...let's get out of here. We can talk if you want to..” He said softly, he was doing his best to be comforting at this moment. Dying and being revived certainly wasn’t easy and he had experienced it once before. He didn’t want to go through it again, ever. Lightly he placed a hand on Elbridge's shoulder. “I don’t think we want him to see either of us like this.” At that same moment Col pulled from the pool of healing he had in order to bring Elbridge farther from the brink of death and slowly got up holding out his hand to the other in case he needed help. 

Elbridge felt his body relax a bit as the healing took over. He blinked a few times and moved his hand from his mouth. He laid there for a moment more before slowly sitting up. He hesitated, but slowly took Col’s hand. He got up, keeping a hand on his chest. Elbridge watched him carefully and took his hand back. “You didn’t have to do that. He told you to finish me off.” He said, narrowing his eyes. “Why didn’t you?” 

"I would rather we have this conversation away from here if you don't mind." Col answered and gave no room for argument as he turned motioning for Elbridge to follow him. He left the arena, keeping up the appearance of being calm and collected as best he could and continued to do so until he exited the tower. 

Elbridge hesitated, but followed silently behind him. His body ached and he could hardly think with his mind so foggy. He blinked a few times, pushing away the stars that had formed in his eyes. He sighed softly, rubbing his head. “So, where are we going again?” He asked.

Col inhaled deeply, maintaining some form of composure. “We can grab a drink if you want? Figured that would be better than awkwardly walking around the gardens or something like that.” He suggested looking over at Elbridge, giving him a slight once over checking to make sure there wasn’t any major, visible damage. He didn’t look like he was near death anymore so that was a start. 

“Yeah, a drink sounds good right about now.” Elbridge said softly, pushing the hair out of his face. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking around. “How long have you been in the program?”

Col gave a slight nod and fell back to keep pace with Elbridge his gaze falling forward once again. “5 years..I was brought in the moment I arrived.” He answered heading towards the dance hall, it would be packed at this time of night but luckily he knew a spot for a private conversation.

Elbridge followed, looking towards the dance hall. He decided to wait and hold off on his questions for now, wanting a more private conversation. “Luck you, I suppose.” He said, pressing a hand to his chest as he used another spell to heal himself a bit more. 

“I don’t think I would call it luck.” Col paused once they were outside the hall glancing towards Elbridge. “If you head up to the balcony there should be a door that leads into a storage type area. Not the most comfortable place but it's better than having a conversation in front of dozens of people. Any preference on that drink?” He asked his hand on the door of the establishment. 

“Just something strong.” Elbridge said, walking past Col and up to the storage area. Once there, he made his way over to a seat and slumped into it. He pushed his eyepatch up for a moment while alone, rubbing over his face gently. He was stressed, especially for what Trent might do after. 

A few minutes went by before Col entered through another door, holding two of Kurdu’s strongest drinks, passing one over to Elbridge. Finding another spot to sit, he plopped down in the seat taking a long swig before speaking. “Do you want me to begin with why I brought you back?” 

Elbridge placed his eyepatch back when he came back in. He took a drink, grimacing for a moment and he sighed. He pushed a hand through his hair and looked at Col. “Sure.” Elbridge said, taking another sip of his drink. 

There was a slight nod, and another moment of silence then Col set down his drink. “Trent had me kill two of my lovers for my graduation...no opportunity for them to redeem themselves. No second chances. Nothing. And I didn’t want a repeat of that. We may not be close but I wasn’t going to let you die Elbridge, not if there was something I could do.” 

Elbridge paused, staying silent for a moment. “I’m sorry for your loss. But, Trent must have had a plan, right?” He said. He didn’t mean to sound pretentious or like an asshole, but he assumed Trent had done it for a bigger purpose. He took another drink. “You hardly know me, Colinam. What makes you think I deserved to live?” 

Col bit his tongue, there were many things he wanted to say about that but words couldn’t express the emotions he felt. “I don’t know what his plan was for that so if you figure it out let me know.” Sighing he took a look around once more, one could never be too cautious before his gaze settled on Elbridge. “If you are thinking there is some ulterior motive to me bringing you back there isn’t. I did what I saw fit in that moment, and I refuse to let someone else die to my own hands.” 

Elbridge watched him for a moment. “Apologies.” He said, taking another sip. “Didn’t mean to touch a nerve.” Elbridge pushed a hand through his hair again. “As for ulterior motives, I suppose I’m just a bit confused. You hardly know me, and Master Ikiton ordered you to kill me. You could have fallen into his good graces by leaving me dead. But you didn’t.” He watched him carefully. “I dare say I wouldn’t have done the same for you.” 

“It’s fine, you didn’t know.” Col ran a hand through his hair pulling it out of the pony tail it was usually in. “I didn’t expect you to do the same for me...also before I forget he wants to see you in two days, in his tower. I don’t know for what but to be honest I didn’t ask either.” He picked up his drink, taking another swig. 

Elbridge tensed for a moment when Col mentioned Trent, nodding and finishing off his drink. He cleared his throat and sat there for a moment, staring at his empty cup. He sighed softly and slowly stood. “I should get going.” He said, glancing at Col before making sure he had everything. “Congrats on winning, by the way.” He said as he made his way to the door. 

Col watched as Elbridge got up debating whether to do the same or not, after everything that had happened it felt like a lot to do anything right now. Besides drink. “For whatever it is worth...stay safe.” He replied his gaze falling away from Elbridge and back to his drink.


End file.
